Our World Was One Block Wide
by SydniBoBydni
Summary: A series of drabbles starting from when Quinn and Puck first met. AU
1. Five

**Not gunna lie, this idea came to me in the bathtub. This story will go from when Quinn and Puck first met up until, maybe their high school graduation. And basically, every chapter represents a year. It's AU I guess, because of the Lucy Caboosey storyline. Also, for the first few chapters, Puck will be called "Noah", and I'm not completely used to it, so forgive me if I slip and call him Puck every now and then. **

**I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Glee.**

**xoPQox**

Noah Puckerman was playing with his hot wheels in the driveway. It was boring summer days like these when he was thankful that his driveway was a hill. He could set up the small cars at the peak and see which one hit the street first. His dad was inside with his band while his mom was at work. And his best friend Finn was away at his grandparent's for the month, so little Noah was left on his own. He didn't mind too much.

"Ready," he knelt down by the long block holding the cars back, "Set..." he gripped in in his fingers, "Go!"

The small cars took off down the driveway, landing in the middle of the cul-de-sac. On his way to pick them up, he saw two big moving trucks pass down the street, pulling up in front of the Litchen's old house. Curious, Noah put his hot wheels in the garage, and carefully went to the living room to ask his dad to take him on a bike ride.

"Not now, Noah! I'm busy!" Chuck Puckerman plucked at his guitar strings while his friends chuckled and drank their beer.

Taking matters into his own hands, Noah got his bike out from the garage, put on his helmet and pads and took off down the street. Watching the Cadillac SUV that was pulled into the driveway, he saw a whole family of blondes. A tall man, a slightly shorter woman with her hair pulled up in a bun, and a younger girl, maybe thirteen, toying with a cell phone. No one his age that he can play with. He was about to turn around and go home when he heard the older woman yell.

"Come on, Quinnie!"

Noah turned his head just in time to see a little girl, around his age, wearing a flowing yellow dress and clutching a stuffed lamb. She glanced in his direction and smiled as she hopped out of the car. He had no idea why his heart beat faster or why he couldn't stop looking at her. But he smiled back and waved.

_later that day..._

"Mommy! Guess what?" Noah exclaimed with his mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"Chew and swallow, then tell me," Deborah chuckled at her son and waited for him to finish.

"A new family just moved in down the street! I saw when I was playing hot wheels!"

"Well, that's lovely! We should go introduce ourselves tomorrow. It's the neighborly thing to do. Chuck would you like to come?"

"No, I got band practice," Chuck grumbled, keeping his eyes glued to the TV.

"Oh...alright," she frowned, "Noah, we'll start on the pie after dinner."

Noah smiled and ate another big bite of his potatoes. This summer just got more interesting.

**xoPQox**

Noah held his mom's hand, while her other hand held the apple pie that they made. His mom laughed when he tried to quicken the pace.

"What are you so excited about?"

"I dunno," he shrugged, still smiling.

Deborah rang the doorbell when they got to the house, waiting patiently. The older blonde woman Noah saw yesterday opened the door, wearing a yellow dress suit and a smile.

"Hi, I'm Deborah Puckerman, and this is my son Noah. We just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood."

"Oh, thank you," the woman grinned ear to ear, "I'm Judy Fabray. Come on in," she moved aside to let them in, taking the pie from Deborah, "Sorry about the mess, we're still working on unpacking. Noah, you look about the age of my Quinnie. She's right through that door in the den watching a movie if you want to say hello."

He looked up at his mom, silently asking permission.

"Go on. Have fun. I'll come back and get you later," she nudged him.

Noah tentatively walked to the double doors that lead to the den, quietly opening the door and calling out, "Hello?"

Quinn turned around on the sofa, facing his direction, "Hi! I'm Quinn!" she smiled, "What's your name?"

"Noah," he blushed and walked closer her, "Quinn's a pretty name."

"Thanks!" she squealed, "Wanna watch Sleeping Beauty with me?"

"I've never seen it."

"It's really good! Come on," she patted the couch cushion, "She's about to sing my favorite song!"

Noah climbed up on the big couch, sitting next to Quinn, watching as the blonde on TV spun around with an owl in a jacket.

"I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream," Quinn sang and swayed with the music.

"You sing good. And she looks like you. Her hair is pretty and yellow like your's."

"Thank you," she grinned at him, "My hair's not as long as her's though. My sister Frannie has hair like that."

For the next hour, the two continued to get to know each other. She told him stories about her move from Connecticut, and he told her about Finn and his dad's band. Before they knew it, Deborah was in the doorway telling him it was time to go home.

"Aw, we didn't get to finish the movie," Quinn pouted.

"We can watch it again sometime. Bye," he got down from the couch.

"Bye, Noah!" she waved and turned her attention back to the movie.

On the walk back home, Noah told his mom all about his time with Quinn. She told him that they would be in the same kindergarten class.

He had never been more excited to go to school.

**xoPQox**

It was the first day of kindergarten. Noah was making a block tower in the corner of the classroom with Finn. Their moms had dropped them off a little while ago. Unfortunately, their early shifts at the hospital prevented them from staying for orientation. At least they had each other. Noah kept glancing at the door, waiting for Quinn to walk in.

"What are you looking at?" Finn asked him, adding another block to the tower.

"Nothing," he answered quickly.

Finally, after numerous kids filed in with their parents, Quinn walked in, holding her mom's hand. Noah waved at her eagerly, and she smiled, handing her princess backpack to Judy and running over to him.

"Hi, Noah," she hugged him fiercely. Finn made a disgusted face and moved to the far side of the tower. He was still under the impression that girls had cooties, and there was no way he was risking catching them.

"Hi," he hugged her back with a big grin on his face, "Wanna help us build a tower?"

"Sure."

**xoPQox**

During nap time, Noah always made sure that he put his mat next to Quinn's. He had never been a big fan of nap time, so he spent the time watching her sleep until he fell asleep himself.

**xoPQox**

Her birthday is coming up. He only knows because 1. It's written on the birthday board in class, and 2. she won't stop talking about it. Not that he minds. He likes that she likes to talk to him.

"My mommy's helping me make the invitations, and I'm gunna give them to everyone in class," Quinn told him before taking another bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, "You'll come to the party, right? It's at Chuck E. Cheese! My daddy told me that he made it so that everyone gets TWENTY tokens!"

"I've never been there before," Noah said quietly, looking down at his sandwich and carrot sticks.

"You've _never_ been to Chuck E. Cheese?" she gawked, "Well then you have to come! I'll show you around and tell you which games are the best! If you do good, you get tickets that you can get prizes with! And they have a ginormous ball pit!" she stretched out her arms to add emphasis.

"Cool! I'll ask my mommy."

"Don't forget to tell her I'm gunna be_ five_! That's important!"

**xoPQox**

Finn's mom brought them to Chuck E. Cheese on the day of Quinn's party. Deborah had to pick up an extra shift, but Carole was happy to take the boys. Noah held her hand and carried a wrapped package in the other.

"Hi, we're looking for the Fabray party," Carole told the girl at the door, who brought them to the back. Noah looked around with wide-eyed wonder. It was so colorful...and loud. He couldn't wait to go in the big ball pit Quinn told him about.

"Hi, Noah! Hi, Finn!" Quinn called from the table. She ran over to them, wearing her favorite sparkly princess dress and a tiara.

"You look very pretty, Quinn," Carole smiled.

"Thank you, Mrs. Finn's Mom," she smiled sweetly, twirling side to side.

"Boys, why don't you go with Quinn, and I'll take your presents to the gift table, ok?"

Quinn took both their hands and lead them over to where the rest of the kids were. Judy was passing out little baggies with the tokens in them to each kid. They all scattered around the play area, some playing games, some going straight to the fun house. Noah stayed by Quinn's side the entire time. He wouldn't let anyone, know, but he was afraid of getting lost.

After the kids played, and ate their pizza, Quinn started to open her presents. Santana and Brittany got her some pretty hair accessories. Rachel got her a toy microphone that she found at Toys R Us. Kurt got her a pretty new outfit. Everyone else had given her dolls and stuffed animals.

Noah handed her his present. It was wrapped with Power Rangers paper, but he made sure to find a pretty pink bow to put on top. Quinn ripped it open, confused at what she found inside.

"It's Sleeping Beauty hair. I found it at the Disney store at the mall," Noah explained, "You put it on, and you have long pretty hair like Sleeping Beauty."

"Cool! I love it! Thank you!" she hugged him. Noah smiled as Quinn thanked everyone else.

"Time for cake!" Judy called out excitedly.

**xoPQox**

**I'm hoping this gets better with time. Starting out is a little difficult. Review if you want to :)**


	2. Six

**Well, my computer crashed, and I completely forgot about this within the time it took to get it fixed. So, I apologize.  
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**Chapter 2: Six**

**xoPQox**

Noah and Quinn had become best friends since last summer. They had play-dates almost everyday. Some days, she would come over to his house and play Power Rangers and Sonic video games. Other days, he would agree to playing Barbies and having girly tea parties. She knew he would be worried about Finn or any of the other boys finding out, so she promised him that it was just between them. And he got to spend time with her, so he didn't mind very much.

He was devastated when she went back to Connecticut for two weeks. Finn would come over with buckets full of action figures for them to play with. It was enough to cheer him up for a few hours of the day. When Finn wasn't available, he sat around and watched TV or sat on the front porch, waiting for Quinn to come back.

**xoPQox**

In class, Noah got to sit at a table with her. However, Mrs. Cleary had to separate them a few times for talking during the lesson. Not that it helped anything. He made silly faces at her from across the room, causing giggles she couldn't stifle. When they were allowed to sit together again, Mrs. Cleary caught him looking at her paper during math hour. He got lectured about how cheating is wrong and that if he can't control his wandering eyes, she would have him permanently separated from Quinn. She wouldn't even give him the chance to explain that he was just looking at how pretty her handwriting is.

**xoPQox**

Quinn was good at math. Noah was good at spelling. Luckily their strong points, were the other's weak points. Quinn would help Noah with addition and subtraction using jellybeans and scenarios he would understand.

"The Ninja Turtles have only have one pizza pie, but each brother wants their own. How many more pizzas do they need to order?"

Noah wasn't as good of a teacher as Quinn. He couldn't come up with any spelling strategies like she did to help him with math. He tried his hardest to help her, though. Every week when they had spelling homework, they would sit as his kitchen table and arrange Scrabble tiles to spell out that week's words.

One week, Quinn ran to him after class, showing him her A+ spelling test and gave him a kiss on the cheek as a thank you.

They stuck with those study methods for a while.

**xoPQox**

Noah swung his pumpkin bucket around while he waited for Quinn to come down from her room.

"Careful, Noah. Don't break anything," his mom lightly grasped his sleeve to stop him.

He impatiently removed his red Ninja Turtle eye mask and slumped down next to her on the sofa.

"Why do girls take so long?" Finn asked asked after he adjusted his blue Power Ranger mask.

At that moment, Quinn and Judy came down the stairs.

"Sorry, her hair had to be curled and her make up was smudged," Judy explained.

"You look pretty," Noah looked at Quinn's sparkly Cinderella dress and slightly dramatic make up.

"Thanks," she smiled at him, her front two teeth missing, "I like your shell."

Noah did a turn, showing off the inflatable turtle shell making Quinn and Finn laugh.

"You kids want candy?" Carole got their attention.

"Yea!"

**xoPQox**

"Okay girls! Are we all ready?" Sabrina, Quinn's ballet teacher clapped her hands. All the girls gathered around, awaiting further instruction, "You all have worked so hard this season, and I'm so proud of you all. Let's go put on a show okay?"

The girls all cheered in unison.

"Let's have our Clara," she glanced at Quinn, "get ready for act one."

Quinn loved ballet. She got to spend time with Brittany and Santana. Also Rachel, who was a little peeved that she didn't get the role of Clara. Her sister, mother, and grandmother had all done ballet when they were her age. She wanted to take acting and singing lessons, but her mother insisted on ballet. It would keep her fit for when she joined cheerleading. During the show, Quinn soaked up the attention that she loved so much. Nothing made her heart race like the sound of an applause just for her.

Glancing out into the crowd, she noticed Noah waving wildly at her. As much as she wanted to wave back, she kept her stilled position, but shot him a bright smile.

He gave her flowers after the performance.

**xoPQox**

"I'm getting a baby sister," he mumbled as he swung back and forth

"Noah, that's so exciting," she swung next to him.

"I guess..."

"You're not excited?"

"I think I'd be more excited if it were a boy. I don't like girls."

"You like _me._ And _I'm_ a girl."

"That's different, you're..." he trailed off.

"I'm what?"

"I dunno. You're not like other girls. You're cool. You can name all the Ninja Turtles. Santana and Brittany can't do that."

"Well, they don't have a best friend who's in love with them. I do. And you can teach your sister who the turtles are and how to play Super Mario."

"And you can teach her about dolls and girly stuff."

"She can be like our baby!"

"No way! I'm never having kids." Noah shook his head in disgust.

**xoPQox**

"Have you ever kissed anyone?" she asked him one day from her perch at the top of the slide.

"No one but my mom and my nana," he hung upside-down from the trapeze bar, "Why?"

"I saw Frannie kissing a boy last night," she frowned.

"Gross!"

"I know!"

"I thought only married people kissed," he wondered aloud.

"Well, Snow White wasn't married when the prince kissed her. Jasmine and Aladdin kissed. They weren't married either."

"I don't wanna get married til I'm twelve years old!"

"Me either."

"Why would Frannie kiss anyone anyways? Why does ANYONE kiss anyone?"

"I dunno," she slid down the slide, "Maybe we should...try it. To see what's so great about it."

"I guess so," he shrugged.

"Close your eyes and stick your lips out," Quinn ordered before doing the same and leaning in, connecting her lips with his; Pulling away just as quickly as she leaned in.

"I don't see what the fuss is," Noah told her, not making eye contact, "It's late. I should go home."

"Me either. But umm...I'll walk you to the front."

They walked in an awkward silence to her driveway. Noah kept his hands in his pockets while Quinn fiddled with her fingers.

"I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow," he mumbled.

"Yea," she sighed, "Bye."

On a whim, Noah pressed his lips to her's once more before speeding off down the street, leaving Quinn frozen in place.

**xoPQox**

Carole brought them and Finn to the pool on the first day of summer. Noah and Finn jumped right into the deep end, splashing around and rough housing like boys do. Quinn sat on the edge and dangled her feet in the water.

"Come on, Q!" Noah called out as Finn swam circles around him, pretending to be a shark.

"No thanks," she looked down at the water.

Noah swam over to and hoisted himself up onto the edge, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know how to swim," she whispered.

He just looked at her for a few moments, wondering how he could help her.

"Come on," he grabbed her hand and pulled her up, "Finn! Meet us over there," he pointed to the shallow end.

"Where are we going?"

"We'll teach you how to swim." he pulled her over to the 3-foot-deep water. Quinn carefully stepped in, the water coming to a stop around her mid section.

For the rest of the afternoon, Noah and Finn showed Quinn how to float on her back and hold her breath underwater. She was still afraid to leave the shallow end, but they had the whole summer to get her to the deep end.

**xoPQox**

When Sara Puckerman was born, Noah, Quinn, and Finn were all there to welcome her into the world. Carole snapped pictures of the kids holding the small baby, and brought them all to the hospital cafeteria when Deborah needed to rest. The four of them went back up to the maternity ward after lunch, walking over to the nursery window to look for baby Sara.

Noah, Quinn, and Finn stood on the bench and looked through the glass window at the sleeping girl. Quinn smiled slightly and turned to Noah.

"She looks like you."

**xoPQox**

**Thoughts?  
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	3. Seven

**I'm going to try to update this more often since I got a flood of alerts after uploading chapter 2! Thank you guys! Hope you enjoy chapter 3!  
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**Chapter three: Seven**

Noah and Finn joined little league football the fall of second grade. Same time that Quinn joined Mini Cheerios with Brittany and Santana. They all got to hang out at the games. Since they weren't in the same class this year, Quinn and Noah loved it because it was the only time they got to spend together; other than the weekends. Quinn always cheered the loudest when Noah scored a touchdown. She was very proud of her friend.

**xoPQox**

"I'm bored."

"Me too."

"Wanna go annoy Frannie?"

"Okay!"

The pair tip toed down the hall from Quinn's room to her older sister's. Completely ignoring the "Keep out" and "Knock first" signs that covered the door and quietly cracking it open. The fifteen year old was at her vanity, brushing her long blonde hair and singing along with the latest Britney Spears song on the radio. Quinn quickly lead Noah into the walk-in closet and carefully pulled the door closed behind them. They giggled quietly once they were in and started rummaging through Fran's things. Quinn found interest in some old photo albums while Noah dug around in the dresser drawers.

"Hey, Q," he whispered.

Quinn turned to look at him, and covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Noah was holding one of her sister's lacey push-up bras against his chest and making a funny face, puckering his lips and crossing his eyes. Quinn ran over to the dresser, pulled out a neon purple one and did the same. They danced around the closet, not realizing how loud their laughter was getting. The closet doors whipped open revealing a very red-faced Frannie. She screamed in anger and launched herself at her sister and her friend. Quinn and Noah dropped the bras and ran under Fran's arms, and out of the room, screaming in terror and delight. They made it to Quinn's room and locked the door before Fran could catch up to them, laughing maniacally.

"Mom! Dad! Quinn and her dumb little boyfriend were going through my stuff!" Fran's muffled voice rang through the halls, only making Noah and Quinn laugh harder.

**xoPQox**

Noah's birthday was right around the corner. Quinn was frantically searching Toys R Us with her mom, trying to find the perfect gift for him. Everything her mom pointed out didn't seem right. Action figures, Hot Wheels, nothing seemed right.

"We've gone up and down every aisle, Quinnie!" Judy put her hands up, obviously frustrated, "Can't you just pick something?"

"I can't just get him anything, Mommy! He's been my best friend for two years! It's gotta be special!"

And then it hit her. What to get him. He had often told her that he used his dad's old guitar when he wasn't around, but he kept the picks locked up.

"Can we go to the music store down the street?"

**xoPQox**

Deborah brought Noah's big homemade cake over to the kitchen table where he and all his friends were gathered. She lit the candles, and started singing "Happy Birthday". Everyone joined her within seconds, clapping when they were finished. Quinn, who was sitting next to Noah, watched with a smile as he blew out his candles. Everyone got a slice of the double chocolate cake, most of the hyper second graders were covered in chocolate by the time they finished.

"Presents! Presents!" Noah pounded his fists on the table.

Any other day, Deborah would have scolded him, but it was his birthday, and she was exhausted already, "Ok, kids, let's go into the family room!"

Noah jumped out of his chair and ran to the next room, Quinn and Finn following close behind. Like any normal boy would, he started with the biggest ones. Quinn was slightly hurt that he didn't look for the gift with her name on it first. If he was going by size, he would probably get to her's last. She looked on as he ripped open his gifts like an animal. Pretty soon the floor was a mess of wrapping paper, tissue paper, and unopened toys. Quinn saw how excited Noah got about his gifts. Suddenly nervous that he wouldn't be as happy with her's, she slyly reached over to grab the small box.

"Quinn, is this one your's?" he beat her to it, snatching the box from it's spot on the floor.

"Y-yea. But-" she stopped. It was too late. He already had it opened.

Noah eyed the gift silently, terrifying Quinn. He took the small silver guitar pick out of the box, holding it up to the light, noticing that _"Noah"_ was engraved into it.

"Noah, I can take it ba-"

"Thank you," he handed the box to his mom and hugged Quinn tightly, ignoring the "Ooh's" and kissing noises from his classmates.

**xoPQox**

The school play was tonight. The entire second grade was going to teach their families and peers about the food groups. Much to Deborah's dismay, Noah was cast as "Ham". It took Mrs. Gosling, his teacher, a half hour to explain that he wasn't eating the ham, just wearing a cardboard cut-out that was painted to look like it. It was perfectly kosher. Quinn got the role of cheese. She wanted to trade with Rachel Berry, who ironically, got the role of a berry. But Ms. Duncan told her that whatever role you get is the one you're stuck with. Quinn pouted, but soon would learn that she wouldn't want any other role.

Her and Noah's favorite part of the play was act 2, when certain foods would come together to make meals. They got to stand hand in hand between Santana and Brittany (bread slices) to make a ham and cheese sandwich. As they stood at the front of the stage, Noah's eyes grazed over the audience, noticing his mother, nana, and baby sister. But something was wrong. His father wasn't there. Quinn looked over and saw his face fall, squeezing his hand tight to let him know she was there for him.

**xoPQox**

Nobody knew, but Noah was terrified of storms. When one would brew up at night, he his under his blankets with his Gameboy Color and cry until it passed. He used to climb into bed with his parents, but last time he did, his dad threw an absolute fit and punched a hole in the wall. From that moment on, Noah knew he had to fend for himself during nighttime storms. Storms during the day weren't as bad. The lightning wasn't as bright, and the thunder usually wasn't as loud.

A severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch had been announced to Lima one cloudy spring day. The kids were told to spend recess in the gymnasium. The loud booms and crackles of thunder frightened many of the girls, while the boys laughed every time they screamed. Noah was huddled in the corner with his knees pulled to his chin and his hands covering his ears.

"Scaredy cat!"

"Baby!"

"Wimp!"

The boys, and some of the meaner girls pointed at him and laughed. Noah willed himself not to cry. That would only make the taunting worse.

Quinn was talking to Brittany when she heard the sound of laughter over the rumble of thunder. Walking over to the large group of boys, she pushed her way through to see what the deal was. When she saw that everyone was making fun of her best friend, she bravely pushed them all away.

"Leave him alone!" she screamed.

"You and what army, princess?" Dave Karofsky teased.

"Me and this arm-y!" she raised her arms, with trembling fists.

"Chill out, Fabray. Jeez."

She held up her fists, with a cold look on her face until each and every one of them backed off, going to sit next to Noah once they had.

"Thanks," he kept his head down as she rubbed his shoulder.

"It's okay to be afraid, Noah."

**xoPQox**

**It's not the best, I know. It'll take me a little while to get back into it. Hopefully I don't disappoint. Chapter 4 should be up soon!  
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	4. Eight

**Chapter 4: Eight**

Luckily, Noah and Quinn were put in the same class again this year. He would jokingly pull her braids or tickle her sides when their class walked single-file down the halls to lunch or to the computer lab, and she would laugh loudly and turn to smack him; earning a sour face from Mrs. McShea. Quinn didn't like her. Neither did Noah. When she wasn't around, they called her a mean old lady.

One day, Noah came to class with his pet rat Neil (Named after Neil Diamond). He hid it in his backpack, only taking it out to show Quinn.

"Why did you bring Neil to class? Show and tell isn't until Friday," she whispered.

"Mrs. McShea is afraid of rats, so I'm teaching her a lesson for being mean to us all the time."

"What are you gonna do?"

"_Shh_. You'll see," he put Neil in his desk.

Noah waited until a little before recess to go through with his plan. He silently took Neil out of his desk while Mrs. McShea had her back turned, and set him down on the floor to run free.

"Mrs. McShea, there's a rat in the room!" he shouted, pointing to Neil.

The teacher turned to him, saw the rat a few feet from her, and screamed louder than he had heard someone scream before. The class burst into laughter, watching as she climbed up on her desk to get away from the small rodent.

It was worth the trip to the principal's office.

**xoPQox**

They were riding their bikes around the neighborhood, stopping every so often so Quinn could pick flowers to put in her basket. On one stop, Quinn noticed something strange.

"Noah! Come'ere!"

"What is it?" he put the kickstand down on his bike and ran over. His eyes followed her pointing finger to a small bird in the tall grass, unmoving. He grabbed a nearby stick, and proceeded to poke it.

"It's dead."

"Should we take it to the hospital?" Quinn's face scrunched.

"Nah, it's probably long gone. Let's just go."

"But, we sho-"

"It's dead, Quinn," he stopped her, "That's how life works. You're born, you live, then you die. That's what my mom told me when my grandpa died."

Quinn nodded, leaving the picked flowers by the bird. The rest of their bike ride was silent. Too silent for Quinn's liking.

"What do you think Heaven is like?"

"I dunno. Never really thought about it before," Noah shrugged.

"In Sunday school, my teacher tells us that in Heaven, you get your own cloud to sleep on. Nobody ever fights, there's nothing to fight about. Everyone wears white gowns, and gets a shiny halo with their name on it."

"Sounds boring."

"You never know."

**xoPQox**

Noah is good in gym class. He's usually picked first for teams. Quinn was never too good at sports. Mini Cheerios and dance were the only sporty thing she did. She was usually picked near the end of the lineup. She likes the days when Noah is captain, because he always picks her first.

This week in gym, however, they're in the gymnastics unit. All the boys groan, while the girls are giddy with excitement. Naturally, Noah flocks to Quinn for help. She helps him walk across the balance beam and holds his legs up when he tried to do handstands.

He never told her that he looked up her skirt.

**xoPQox**

Quinn was climbing to the top of the 6 Cheerio pyramid. She'd done it tons of times before, so she didn't get as nervous as when she started. She held up her arms and cheered for Noah and Finn, holding herself up well. But, the girls below her started to wobble, and she could feel herself losing her balance. Unable to find anything to keep her up, she found herself falling to the grass, landing on her arm.

Noah was running down the field, football under his arm, when he heard the unfamiliar sound of crying instead of cheering. As soon as he looked over, seeing Quinn lying on the grass, he dropped the football, took off his helmet, and ran over to her; ignoring the whistle blows and angry shouts from his teammates.

"Is she okay?" he asked no one in particular, "What happened?"

_"She fell off the pyramid!"_

_"I think she broke her arm!"_

_"Somebody call 911!"_

"Noah," Quinn's coach put her hand on his shoulder, "Quinn's parents are going to take her to the hospital. She'll be fine."

"Can I go with them?" his eyes were big and pleading

"Why don't you go finish your game?"

"No! I wanna make sure my best friend is okay!"

"Well, it's up to her mom and dad, Noah."

As if on cue, her parents showed up behind him, Russell scooping Quinn up in his arms and walking to the car.

"Mrs. Fabray?" Noah tugged lightly on Judy's skirt, "Can I go with you guys?"

Judy eyed the small boy with a sympathetic look, knowing how close he and Quinn were, maybe it would be nice for Quinn to have a friend with her.

"Go tell your mommy, sweetie. Quickly!"

Noah ran as fast as his legs could take him to Deborah and Sara's place on the grass.

"Hey, I saw what happened. Is Quinn alright?"

"Can I go with the Fabray's to the hospital? I think Quinn broke her arm."

"If they're alright with you going, then of course. I'm in charge of Finn today, so we'll stop by after the game, okay? Give Quinn my love."

After giving his mom a quick kiss and hug, he ran to the Fabray's SUV, climbing in next to Quinn, who was still crying. He didn't bother to ask her if she was okay. He knew she was probably feeling like crap. He didn't say anything. He just gave her an apologetic smile and held her free hand, letting her squeeze it. Her hurt arm was wrapped in a cold towel that he coach had given her parents for the ride.

**xoPQox**

Quinn was taken to the emergency room. Noah waited, rather impatiently for her to be allowed visitors. He wanted to go in with her, but the doctors told him he needed to stay in the waiting room. It was the longest three hours of his life. He spent most of his time looking through the windows of the ER doors, waiting for his chance to go in. A few times, he even want up to the front desk, just barely able to see over the edge, and asked the receptionist how much longer it would take.

_"You'll see your friend soon, hun,"_ was the answer he got each time.

"When she's done, can you call Mr. Puckerman over the intercom?"

"Sure," the woman gave him a warm smile and a lollipop.

His mom had come just like she promised with Finn, Sara, and a handful of McDonalds Happy Meal boxes for them. Luckily it kept him occupied for the rest of the wait.

_"Mr. Puckerman, please come to the front desk!"_

Noah jumped down from his chair and ran over to the woman he'd been pestering all night, "Is she done?"

"She just got moved to the children's ward, sweetie," she smiled, "Room 224."

"Thank you!" he ran back over to his spot, "Quinn's out of surgery! Let's go!"

He tugged his mom's hand through the hospital, Finn trailing close behind.

"Noah, honey, slow down," his mom giggled at her son's eagerness.

He finally reached Quinn's room, only pausing to "knock first" as Deborah told him.

"Come on in!"

Noah opened the door, frightened by the machines attached to Quinn, but seeing the smile on her face made it better.

"Hi guys," Quinn said in a weak tone, probably tired from the morphine.

Noah practically galloped to her bedside, handing her the flowers he got at the gift shop, "How's your arm?"

"S'better," she slowly lifted her arm, showing off her hot pink cast, "I have to have this on for a few weeks, but I'm gonna get everybody in class to sign it! But you're first, cause you're my best friend."

He smiled and lowered his head, trying to hide his blush.

"Alright kids, visiting hours are over," a nurse came into the room, "Quinn needs her rest. You can see her tomorrow."

Noah looked back at Quinn, "I'll bring you your homework tomorrow so you don't have to make it up."

"Thanks, Noah," she smiled.

**xoPQox**

That month, Noah learned that girls liked it when you helped them carry their books.

**xoPQox**


	5. Nine

**So I've realized that I continuously forget to put my disclaimer in each chapters. Whoopsie.  
><strong>

**DISCLAIMER: I do not now, nor will I EVER own Glee or its characters.  
><strong>

**Chapter 5: Nine**

"Hey Quinn," Noah tapped her shoulder, "Check this out."

Quinn took her attention away from her lunchable look at him. Noah had put two pringles between his lips to look like a duck beak, crossing his eyes and making quacking sounds.

She immediately cracked up at the sight, almost shooting chocolate milk out of her nose. She unwrapped her Airhead, placing it in her mouth like a long blue tongue, and picked two crackers out of her lunch and placed them over her eyes.

He always knew how to make her laugh.

**xoPQox**

Their class took a field trip to all the important places in town. Quinn was excited because her parents bought her a few disposable cameras to bring along. Noah was excited because he didn't have to learn long division that day.

First stop: the police station.

They all got to try on handcuffs and stand in one of the cells. Quinn giggled as she took a picture of Noah clutching the cell door, as if he were begging to be let free.

"Those bars look good on you, Noah," she teased.

Stop number two: The fire station.

Finn nearly crushed Rachel going down the fire pole. Quinn managed to get a picture of Rachel's horrified face. Noah pulled off a few spinning tricks on his way down. Rachel called him a show off, but Quinn was impressed with his skill.

Stop three: city hall.

That was the worst. At least it was for Noah. He was so unbelievably bored. Quinn wouldn't even talk or goof off with him.

"The mayor is here! Be quiet so we don't get in trouble!"

Stop four: The library.

Another horribly boring place for Noah, but at least Quinn talked to him. Quietly, since they were, _of course_, in the library.

The fifth and final stop: The supermarket.

This was Finn's favorite stop. They got free samples. They also learned how to make receipts from the cash register and got to keep them. Quinn clutched onto Noah when they were taken into the freezer. He was grateful that she forgot to bring a jacket.

By the end of the day, Quinn had filled up all her cameras.

**xoPQox**

Quinn liked going to Noah's house. It was much more relaxed and laid back than her house. She wasn't punished for spilling anything, and she didn't have to eat at the dining room table. They often got to eat snacks and meals in front of the TV. Her favorite meal at Noah's house was macaroni and cheese. Her parents never buy it for her. _"It has over 800 calories per serving, Quinnie. You need to stay in shape for cheerleading and dance."_ She didn't care. She liked it. So she went over to Noah's for dinner as often as she could.

"I wish I could just move in here with you. I like it better than my house."

"Ask your parents! I'm sure mine would be cool with it."

"I don't think so."

"We could do it in secret, that way no one but us knows."

"There's no room for me here! Where am I gonna put all my dolls?"

"You can bunk with me! I'll move some of my hot wheels out of the way so you can put your dolls in there..."

"Where am I supposed to sleep, Noah? On the floor?"

"You can sleep in my bed. But we'll sleep opposite ways, cause I don't think you're supposed to sleep facing the same way 'til you're married."

Quinn looked at him incredulously, it's like he _really_ wanted her to live here.

"Maybe I'll move in when I'm older."

**xoPQox**

"Noah! We're going rollerskating for my birthday this year!"

"Umm...I don't know how. I've never been."

"It's fun! I'll teach you."

"I don't have any skates."

"Me either. You get to borrow them from the place and return them when you leave."

"I dunno, Quinn..."

_"Pleeeeeeeaseeee?"_

Noah tried his hardest to avoid eye contact. He knew if he so much as glanced at her, he'd give in. Stupid puppy dog eyes.

_"Fine,"_ he sighed. It was outrageous the types of things she could talk him into.

**xoPQox**

Everyone had their skates on. Most of them were already out on the rink. N*Sync blaring through the speakers and the neon lights flashing. Noah was still sitting in his spot on the floor where he put his skates on, too scared and embarrassed to get up.

"Come on, Noah!" Quinn skated over, gliding as if she had wings. He took her outstretched hands and pulled himself up, wobbling on his shakey legs, "Just act like you're walking, but more glide-y," she led him to the rink door, "Good, now just hold on to the edge and step over the step. We'll start on the edges. Just hold the wall with one hand, and hold my hand with the other."

He did as she told him, thankful that everyone was having too much fun to pay attention. Eventually, after going around the edges a few times, Quinn had convinced him to come off the wall. She held both his hands, skating backwards, while he focused on his feet.

"Don't look down, that'll mess you up," she giggled as he wobbled a little, "You're doing good!"

Throughout the day, Quinn managed to get Noah farther from the wall. Baby steps. She skated next to him instead of in front, and eventually, he didn't even need to hold on anymore. He could do it all on his own.

He only held her hand again for the couples skate.

**xoPQox**

"Fuck this! And fuck you!" her father's slurred shouts echoed throughout the house. Quinn was scared. He never normally yelled like that, or cursed for that matter. At least not that she'd heard. She grabbed the fluffy, pink phone that they had hooked up to her room and dialed the Puckerman residence.

"Hello, Puckerman residence," Deborah answered.

"Hi, Mrs. Puckerman. It's Quinn. Can you put Noah on the phone?"

"Sure, honey. Hold on a second." Quinn tried to focus on the noises over the phone rather than the sound of glass breaking downstairs.

"Quinn?" his voice calmed her down a little.

"Noah, can you do me a favor?" she whimpered into the phone.

"Uhh, I guess. What's up?"

"Can you come over? I don't wanna be alone."

"What's going on?" he asked worriedly.

"My dad is drunk and yelling and breaking things. I'm scared," she cried.

"I can't leave right now, but I'll sneak out after my bedtime. Will you be ok until then?"

"Yea, I guess," she sniffed, "Just get here as soon as you can, and climb up the trellis. I'll leave my window open."

"Ok. I'll see you in about a half hour. Just listen to your Swan Lake CD with your headphones on. Try to ignore him."

"I will," she nodded, though he couldn't see, "Thank you, Noah."

"You're welcome, Q. See you soon."

After Quinn hung up, she frantically searched for her CD player and headphones. Turning the volume up as high as she could to drown out the noise. She waited anxiously for Noah to arrive. Around nine, exactly a half hour after their phone conversation, he quietly climbed through her window. She tore off her headphones and ran to him, burying her face in his shoulder. Noah rubbed her back and let her cry. He lead her over to the bed and sat up against the headboard with her still crying into his shoulder. Another loud bang sounded from downstairs. Quinn flinched and cried harder as Noah pulled her closer to him. He was used to this kind of thing. The loud fighting, the slamming doors and breaking of glass. It was like this at his house at least one night a week. Quinn had obviously never experienced it before, and he was glad that he was there to comfort her.

Not too long later, the yelling and loud noises stopped. The house was silent. The only thing he could hear was Quinn's even breathing, signaling that she was asleep. He carefully laid her down, covering her with the afghan at the foot of the bed, and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Q" he whispered and climbed back out the window.

**xoPQox**

The fourth grade class was putting on a Disney concert. All the fourth graders gathered into the music room before lunch to practice. Solos and duets were assigned to those who auditioned, and the rest would be group performances.

Rachel and Finn got a duet of "A Whole New World" from Aladdin.

The new kid Kurt (Who sang really girl-like) got a solo of "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes".

All the girls were going to sing "Someday My Prince Will Come" together, and the boys were to sing "The Bare Necessities".

"And the duet partners for 'Once Upon a Dream' are..."

Quinn squeezed her eyes shut, crossing her fingers tightly. She'd practiced Aurora's part in Sleeping Beauty for weeks.

"Quinn Fabray and Matt Rutherford," Mrs. Bochino announced.

The small blonde's face fell. Sure, she was excited to have gotten the part, and Matt was nice...but she wanted to sing it with someone else. Someone who _still_ hadn't watched the full movie with her yet. She wanted to sing with Noah.

She looked over at him and noticed he didn't look too thrilled either.

They_ never_ get to sing together.

**xoPQox**


	6. Ten

**Kinda short chapter. Some drama.** **Enjoy! Also, if you followed me on Tumblr before I deleted my old account SydniBoBydni, (Message me if you did, and I'll give you my new URL if you still wanna follow), I'm going to start including the stories from some of the picfics I posted on there. This chapter includes one of them. So, just in case you're like "This sounds familiar" yea. I'm rambling. Sorry.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or it's characters.**

**Chapter 6: Ten**

Quinn, Noah, and their friends decided to go on a "group date" to the movies, without their parents. They were fifth graders. Practically grown ups. Carole dropped Finn, Noah, Quinn, and Rachel (who Finn invited along just so the group was even) off in front of the theater. She give Finn kisses on his cheeks and told him to use Quinn's cell phone if he needed anything. Brittany and Santana didn't even try to contain their laughter.

Rachel clung to Finn the whole time they got their tickets and ordered popcorn. Brittany and Santana had linked elbows while holding the boys' hands on either side of them. Quinn awkwardly tugged at the hem of her tank top and adjusted her denim skirt. Everyone else was pairing up.

"The movie's gonna start soon. Let's go," she said cooly, grabbing Noah's hand and tugging him towards the theater. She found it difficult to let go afterwards, so they kept their hands connected for the entire movie.

**xoPQox**

After their movie date, the group of ten year olds started doing more things together. Though no one really liked her, Finn continued to invite Rachel with them. Every other weekend, they did something fun all together. Mini golf, go-karting (Noah's favorite. It reminded him of Mario Kart), the arcade, pretty much anyplace where fifth graders can spend their time and parent's money.

This weekend, they just decided to go to the mall. Simple. The only thing they had to spend money on was lunch. They compromised on what stores to go to. They all wanted to go to the music store, Build-A-Bear, the toy store, and the Disney store. The girls promised to not complain about going into GameStop if the boys promised not to complain about going to Limited Too.

They managed to get kicked out of the music store, thanks to Finn and Noah. The sign clearly says "DO NOT TOUCH THE INSTRUMENTS". Even though they promised, Santana, Brittany, and Rachel all whined at the video game store. Quinn however, followed Noah around, seeing which games he wanted. Maybe she could get him one for Hanukkah. And of course, the boys did nothing but groan around Limited Too. Even Noah. But he was happy to give his opinions on outfits that Quinn tried on.

**xoPQox**

Noah tried to block out the sounds of yelling downstairs. For some reason, tonight the glass breaking sounded louder. The walls shook harder when the doors slammed. He knew how it went down. For four years, almost every night now, his parents would fight, Sara would wake up crying, his mom silently walked up the stairs to comfort her and check on him, and his dad would pass out on the couch. But tonight, the sound of his father's loud footsteps could be heard trudging up the steps. Noah pretended to be asleep, just in case he were to come into his room, but instead, the footsteps seemed to be going in the direction of his parents' room. Maybe he decided the couch wasn't very comfortable anymore. The fighting seemed to have stopped, but his father continued to yell profanities. Noah squeezed his eyes shut as the loud footsteps came back up the hall and down the stairs, the front door slamming shut soon after. He jumped out of bed to the window, thankful that his room was in the front of the house.

Out in the driveway, Chuck was throwing his suitcase and guitar into the bed of his truck, grudgingly climbing into the front before driving off into the darkness.

His father had walked out like this a few times before, but Noah had a feeling that he wasn't coming back this time.

**xoPQox**

"Noah Puckerman, what on earth did you do?"

"What?"

"Your hair! What did you do to your hair?"

"I shaved it into a mohawk. Big deal."

"You look ridiculous, Noah."

"Gee, thanks. And don't call me Noah. It's Puck."

"Ok, Puck, why did you do that to your hair?" the ten year old blonde scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Cause it looks cool, ok? Back off! Shouldn't you be playing Barbies with Santana and Brittany, or something?" Puck snapped.

Quinn stayed quiet for a moment, taking the time to smooth any wrinkles out of her sweater, giving him time to calm down before speaking up. "Noah...is this about your dad?" she asked softly.

He looked down at the gravel of the playground, kicking some lightly to the side, "He didn't even say goodbye to me." he said lowly, not making eye contact. He didn't want her to see that he was on the verge of tears, even though she could probably tell from the way his voice cracked.

Quinn didn't say anything. She didn't mock him for tearing up, or tell him how sorry she was. She took his hand and led him to the corner of the playground, out of sight from the other kids. Sitting down, she slung an arm over his shoulder and just let him cry.

**xoPQox**

"I'm moving," he mumbled.

"What? Where? You can't move! We're starting middle school next year!"

"Across town. Since my dad left, my mom can't afford our house anymore, so we're moving to a cheaper one," he pumped his legs back and forth, swinging as if he were trying to touch the clouds above her house.

"When?" Quinn asked after a few moments of silence.

"Next week," he winced. He'd known about it for a few months, but never knew how to tell her.

"Next week?" she shrieked and brought her swing to a halt, "Noa-Puck! That's only a few days left that we have to spend together! Don't you realize what this means? You and me are going to get further and further apart, and pretty soon, we won't even talk anymore!"

Seeing she was almost in tears, Puck stopped his swing and stood in front of her's, "That'll never happen, Q. We'll always be best friends."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

**xoPQox**

**sad pandas?  
><strong>


	7. Eleven

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters.  
><strong>

**Chapter 7: Eleven**

They changed that summer. Not being able to see each other as much made things difficult for the pair. Quinn spent most of her time in her room. Fran was headed off to college, so she was left alone. Her parents seemed to fight more. Or maybe the same amount and she just didn't have Noah around to distract her. She begged her parents to put her into more activities. Gymnastics, Jazz dance (on top of ballet), and of course more cheerleading. She barely even had time to eat. But that was good, she had to stay in tip-top shape anyways. She talked to Noah (she called him Puck, but he would always be Noah to her) every week or two over the phone. Lately, she liked that she didn't see him. Her body was going through some changes that she didn't think he would understand.

Noah was different as well. His voice was changing and he was growing hair in places he didn't think was possible. Once he noticed his voice starting to squeak, he refused to pick up Quinn's phone calls until it went back to normal. But it got deeper. More manly. His mom explained that he wasn't a boy anymore. He was becoming a man. She sent him to Temple more often to start practicing for his Bar Mitzvah. Rabbi Greenburg explained it all to him. What being a man was all about. Puck knew that if he was gonna be a man, he had to look like one. He found some old weights that his dad left behind, and started a lifting schedule. By the time middle school started, he was pretty buff for an eleven year old.

**xoPQox**

On the first day of 6th grade, everyone seemed to have changed. Some of the girls were wearing make-up and tighter clothes that showed off their 'development', the boys were taller with deeper voices, spiking their hair instead of letting it lay flat. Noah was with Finn in line to sign up for football tryouts. Quinn, who was in the next line over signing up for the Junior Cheerios, spotted him. She hid behind Santana, taking the opportunity to look him over. Having not seen him all summer, she was surprised at how much older he looked. He still had that ridiculous mohawk, he was taller, and she could tell that he had some muscles under the short sleeved shirt he was swearing. Puck looked over at the cheerleading wannabes, noticing a hidden head of sandy blonde hair and a set of ears he would know anywhere.

"Quinn?"

She looked up, pretending to be surprised to see him, "Puck! Oh my god! Good to see you!"

As she moved over to hug him, he noticed that her shirt was more low cut and her skirt was shorter than the last time he saw her. She left a big lip gloss mark on his cheek before pulling away.

"When did you start...wearing make up?" he furrowed his eyebrows as he wiped his cheek.

"Oh, my mom told me I have to look my best for school, so she bought me a bunch of stuff."

He looked her up and down, "Well, you look good."

"You too," she coquettishly ran her hand down his bicep, giggling as his eyes widened, "Well, I've gotta go. I'll see you around. What team are you in?"

"Uhh, team three."

"Me too! Then I guess I'll really see you around."

"Yea," he chuckled awkwardly, "Bye."

She twiddled her fingers at him before going back over to Santana and Brittany.

_"He's changed."_

_"She's changed."_

**xoPQox**

They had three classes together. Four if you counted study hall. English, Science, and Math.

He sat behind her in English; finding it hard to focus on anything but the back of her head.

She sat on the opposite side of the room in math. He still struggled with math after all these years, and now she wasn't even near enough to help him.

They shared a lab table in science. Thankfully Mr. Rand let them pick their own partners. They needed to catch up, so they saw this as an opportunity to reconnect.

By the end of first semester, Quinn and Puck were back to being friends. Not as close as they used to be, but as close as they could get with their limited time together.

**xoPQox**

After successful football games, the team and cheerleaders would always go out to Coneys to celebrate.

"Puck, can you order for me? I just have to go to the bathroom."

"No problem," he smiled.

"I want a-"

"Go ahead. I got it."

"Oh, o-okay. Thank you!" she pat him on the shoulder before running off.

Puck walked up to the counter, telling the teenaged boy behind the counter what he wanted.

"Will that be all?"

"No, can I also get a medium cup of strawberry ice cream, with hot fudge and rainbow sprinkles?"

"Sure thing, kid. That's $4.95."

Puck went to pay for their orders separately like Quinn wanted, but instead he handed the cashier his five dollar bill, receiving his change and waiting on the side for their ice cream. Quinn came back from the bathroom as soon as their orders were ready.

"Thanks," she took her bowl from him, "Do you have my change?"

"Oh, yea. Here ya go," he handed her the five dollars she had given him.

"This is what I _gave_ you."

"I know," he smirked as they sat in a booth.

"Puck..."

"Don't worry about it."

She smiled warmly and watched him dig into his sundae.

**xoPQox**

Quinn faints while they're dissecting frogs in science class. After the teacher revived her, Puck offered the bring her to the nurse. She was his partner after all.

He sits out of the way while the nurse takes her temperature and blood pressure. She offers to call her mom, but Quinn insists on staying at school. The nurse instructs her to lie down for a few minutes, just to make sure she's alright. Puck took the opportunity to move his chair over to her bedside, finding her hand with his. She smiled at him, weakly, but it was a smile.

"Thanks, Noah."

"It's P-"

"I know," she chuckled, "Just making sure you didn't forget."

**xoPQox**

He needs money. Rabbi Greenburg told him that men help out around the house. He could tell that his mom was struggling. She was sad a lot, and had two kids to support on top of it. Luckily, Sara wasn't as high maintenance as she used to be. She was almost five, and becoming quite independent. But he wanted to help. He started mowing lawns and walking dogs. He insisted that his mom take the money.

"Noah, this is very sweet and helpful of you, but it's your money. You earned it."

"At least take half. Please?"

Deborah gave him a weepy smile and a hug, kissing his head.

She put his money in a jar for his college fund.

**xoPQox**


	8. Twelve

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its characters.  
><strong>

**Chapter 8: Twelve**

Puck had saved up enough money from mowing lawns and dog walking to buy his own guitar. He hasn't played since his dad left, since he had the only guitar in the house. Deborah brought him and Sara to the music store one weekend so he could pick one out.

"Find one you like, Noah?"

"This one," he pointed to the acoustic hanging on the wall. Just like his dad's.

He takes it home, tunes it up, and teaches himself to play once again with the guitar pick Quinn got him for his seventh birthday.

**xoPQox**

Quinn was at a sleepover at Brittany's with Santana and a few other Cheerios, playing a game of truth or dare.

"Quinn?" one of the older girls piped up, "Truth or dare?"

Quinn knew what kind of dares these girls came up with. They already made Brittany and Santana kiss, and made one girl run around the house in just her underwear, "Truth..."

"Who do you like?"

"I don't like anybody."

"You have to like someone!" another girl squealed.

"Ok, then Finn, I guess," she shrugged. The girls all snickered around her. She knew it was wrong to lie in truth or dare, but God would forgive her.

"Ooh! He's cute," one girl Shelly laughed, "I like that one kid Puck. He is _fine_."

Quinn glared in her direction, trying not to make her anger look obvious.

"Don't say that," another girl giggled, "Quinn won't like it."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"We know it's really him that you like. Don't even deny it Fabray. We see the way you watch him at games. You're totally in love with him."

"Am not!"

"I bet you've kissed him too. On the lips."

"I-I..."

"Oh my god, do you see how red she's getting? You HAVE kissed him, haven't you?"

Quinn started to tear up. But she wasn't sure why. She got up, with her stuffed lamb and ran out to the bathroom, the sound of her peers' laughter behind her. Locking the door behind her, she sat on the bathroom floor and cried. So she liked Puck. Why were they making it such a big deal? Yes, she'd kissed him, but they were six. They were just kids. It's not like it meant anything...

Did it?

**xoPQox**

"So, Puck," Azimio slapped him on the back in the locker room, "What's the story with that Fabray girl?"

"Quinn?"

"Yea, how far have you gotten with her? 2nd base?"

"What?" Puck's eyebrows stitched together, "No, no. We're just friends."

"_Friends?_" Jamie Shaw looked at him incredulously, "With a _girl_?"

"Yea, what's so wrong with that?"

"You can't be friends with a girl, dude! It's like, in the big book of bro rules!"

"...Really?"

"Totally. Anyways, coach wants us on the field in ten. Full pads. Don't be late."

_"But she's my best friend."_

**xoPQox**

The Monday after the sleepover, Quinn decided against sitting with her "friends". Sitting with Puck probably wouldn't do any good. It would only egg them on. She just stood in the middle of the cafeteria, looking longingly at Puck, wishing she could sit with him. Even if there was no threat of ridicule, he looked way too interested in talking with him football buddies than helping her.

"Quinn! Quinn! You can sit over here with me!"

Turning her head, she saw an ecstatic Rachel Berry waving at her. She was sitting by herself, and looked kind of lonely. But sitting with her would probably only put her lower on the social ladder.

"Why would I wanna sit with a loser like you?" she spat before walking out of the cafeteria.

Her heart was racing. She was never that mean to anyone before. But a part of her kind of liked it.

**xoPQox**

They were at Santana's birthday party. Just football players and Cheerios. They were all playing spin the bottle in the basement. Quinn was sitting next to Noah for comfort. The whole loud music, and watching people exchange saliva thing wasn't exactly her scene.

"Okay, Quinnie! Your turn!" Santana smirked.

Sighing, Quinn leaned over to spin the empty wine cooler, which everyone had passed around until it was empty. She watched nervously as the bottle came to a slow and steady stop, pointing directly to the mohawked boy next to her.

"Oooooh!" all the girls, and some boys taunted.

"Shut up!" Quinn barked at them, impressed by her own bravery, leaning over and smoothly kissing Puck right on the lips in front of everybody; pulling away just as quickly as she leaned in, leaving Puck with wide, surprised eyes.

Santana watched with a smirk, wondering how she can make this more interesting.

"Okay, time for seven minutes in heaven! Quinn you're first," she got up, bringing Quinn up with her. She grabbed an old tie that was dangling from the stairs and folded it over Quinn's eyes, leading her to the closet.

"We're going to pick a random guy to come join you in here," she whispered, "And you're going to spend time with him for seven whole minutes. And when the seven minutes are up, I'll come back to tell you."

Quinn felt herself being shoved into a stuffy room. She could feel how small the closet was without even touching the walls, when she slid down to sit against the closest one, her knees barely bent on the floor. She knew they would probably send Puck in, just to humiliate her more. But on the off chance they didn't, she kept the blindfold on so she couldn't see what football jerk they decided on. The closet door opened silently, the loud music and laughter amplifying and muffling again as it shut. Quinn remained still, wanting these seven minutes to be over with. The unknown boy sat down in front of her. She could feel him moving closer, her heart was beating rapidly in her ears. The stranger moved his hands to her head, causing her to flinch. What was he doing? Feeling the cool fabric come down from her eyes, she blinked frantically, adjusting her eyes to the darkness.

"You ok, Q?" he whispered.

Quinn looked up to see the face of her best friend, suddenly tearing up and clinging to his shirt. Puck reached up and silently locked the closet door, making sure no one made them come out until Quinn was ready to. He leaned against the next wall and pulled her carefully into his lap, resting her head on his chest.

She didn't know why she was crying. That happened a lot lately. But when it did, she always hoped she could fall into Noah's arms and wish the world away, like she was now.

The doorknob began to jiggle a few minutes later, followed by pounding on the door and muffled taunts and laughter. Puck covered Quinn's other ear with his hand, trying to shield her from the anything but his comforting words.

**xoPQox**


	9. Thirteen

**FORGIVE ME: I was rereading this entire fanfic, and realized that I, like the writers of Glee, suck at continuity. I realized that I introduced Kurt in the first chapter as one of Quinn's party guests, and then I introduced him in chapter five that I introduced him as a new student. I suck. Sorry about that!  
><strong>

**Chapter Nine: Thirteen**

When Puck finally gets a cell phone, Quinn's is the first number he puts in it.

**xoPQox**

He reads off the Torah. Rabbi Greenburg blesses him while Deborah watches with misty eyes.

His party is packed with family and some friends from school. People constantly come up to him to congratulate him.

_"Mazel Tov!"_ everyone shouts in unison.

Quinn strutted up to him, dressed in a classy navy blue dress. She handed him a small box. Similar to the one she gave him seven years ago.

"_Mazel Tov_, Noah!"

He didn't bother correcting her. Pretty much everyone else in the room was calling him "Noah" anyways.

"Thanks, Q," he took the gift and hugged her tightly. No judgements from anyone, except maybe his elderly relatives. He opened the box, seeing exactly what he expected: a brand new guitar pick. After his seventh birthday, Quinn noticed how much he appreciated them, so she made a habit of getting him a new one every year.

"It's not brand new," She admits, "I found it at this little store back in Connecticut a two years ago, and I wanted to save it for a special occasion. Read it!"

Noah squinted as he tried to read the small engraving.

_"Mind your P's and Q's"_

He smiled.

"I know you're really an 'N', but since you go by Puck, I figured it wor-" she was abruptly cut off by his lips against her's. Neither pulling away like times before, both just sort of...frozen in place.

"Noah!" a shrill voice called out above the music, "Noah, where are you?"

That's enough to separate them. Flushed and panting they just smile meekly at each other before Quinn goes off to find friends and Puck goes to find his grandma.

**xoPQox**

Now that they're in eighth grade, there are no older Junior Cheerios to make Quinn feel inferior. The eighth grade girls last year were above pretty much everybody. She took on their role, taunting the other girls in school. She sought out people's biggest insecurity and found ways to use it against them. Constantly calling people names and making them feel horrible. She knew it wasn't right. And it wasn't fair. But she didn't know any other way to get out her anger and frustrations. If she was feeling bloated, maybe from eating too much, or not getting adequate exercise, she would prey on a heavy girl and taunted them until she felt better about herself. Pretty soon, her own teammates were afraid of her. They did everything she told them to. Santana and Brittany became like her groupies. They followed her around, and helped her torment others.

Rachel Berry was their toughest target. No matter how many times they pointed out her nose, or her sense of style, she never seemed to get mad, or even upset. She would just come up with some snide comment saying that they were just jealous. They would scoff and roll their eyes, denying every accusation Berry would make. But in reality, they were jealous. Rachel was so carefree and unmoved by unkind words. She seemed to really enjoy her life, despite the horrible things they spat at her.

Why couldn't they be like that?

**xoPQox**

"Okay class! Surprise lesson. Today, we'll be learning about sexuality and how to stay safe."

Quinn sat alone at her desk. Usually Puck sat right next to her in health class.

_"Of all days for him to miss."_

Within the hour, they learned about birth control and how to put on condoms, and how they prevent pregnancy and STD's. They even watched a video about conception and where babies come from.

During the video, while the teacher wasn't paying attention, Quinn pulled her cell phone out of her purse, sending a quick text to Puck.

**Q:** where ru

**P:** skippin

**Q:** u picked a bad day

**P:** o well

Quinn rolled her eyes and put her phone away. Trying desperately to avert her eyes from the video, she spent her time glancing around the room, something catching her attention.

_"Where's Santana?"_

**xoPQox**

He's on his way to health class when Santana pulls him off to the side.

"Hey, Puckerman," she bats her eyelashes at him, "What'dya say we go to the janitors closet and get our mack on?"

"Uhh...I'm on my way to class. Shouldn't you be doing the same?"

"It's just health class. Most of that shit's common sense anyways. Come on. No one'll miss us."

It _was_ just health class...missing one day wouldn't hurt.

**xoPQox**

Santana spends an entire hour of practice bragging about her make out session with Puck a few days ago. Quinn pretends to not be listening while she stretches, but she can't seem to tune out Santana's gloating. Quinn could tell she was trying to make her jealous. Santana knew how Quinn felt about Puck. Why she would do this to her, she had no idea. Maybe revenge for commenting on her frizzy hair last week.

_"It was so hot. He-"_

Quinn felt like she was going to be sick. She quietly walked away from the group and back to the locker room. she could feel Santana's eyes burning into her back, as she willed herself not to cry. She grabbed her cell out of her locker. Two new messages from Puck.

**P:** hey

**P:** u ok? u been acting funny all week

Quinn stared at the screen in tears before deleting them both.

She decided to start fresh. Noah Puckerman was out of her life.

**xoPQox**


	10. Fourteen

**I do not own Glee.**

**Chapter 10: Fourteen**

"Hey, Quinn."

"Hi."

"Would you wanna...go out sometime?"

She stared at him with a blank expression, "Really?"

"Yea. It's been a while since we've hung out. And...I really like you."

"S-sure! Of course," she smiled.

"Great! Uhh, I'll text you," he smiled as he started walking backwards down the hall, "Bye!"

"Bye, Finn!"

**xoPQox**

Now a freshman in high school, Quinn hadn't spoken to Puck since the incident with Santana. She would've stopped talking to Santana as well, but she was on the Cheerios with her. So, she was unavoidable. Even in a sea of freshmen at McKinley High School, Quinn felt completely alone. She roamed the halls, a trail of Cheerios behind her, shooting spiteful glares towards anyone who dared to look her in the eye. She was the queen bee. Nobody messed with her. She was on the honor roll, she was cheerleading captain, her boyfriend was quarterback, she had loyal followers...she had power. She had everything a typical high school girl could ever dream of.

So why did she feel like she had nothing?

**xoPQox**

The news about Quinn and Finn had spread like wildfire around the school. He understood why Quinn hadn't told him. She hadn't spoken to him in months. But Finn? Finn was his boy. They told each other everything. As girly as that sounds. And now, apparently a week after they made it official, he was finding out about it.

"Dude," he approached Finn at his locker, "What the hell?"

"I'm sorry," Finn didn't make eye contact, "I know how you feel about her, but-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I do _not_ have feelings for Quinn."

They'd been best friends for their entire lives. Finn could see right through him. And Puck knew it.

"Look, I just wanted to know why you kept it from me. You can do what you want. But we're bro's. I figured you would've told me."

"I know. I'm sorry, I just-"

"Hi, Finn," Quinn stalked up to them. Her high pony tail swaying from side to side. Puck glanced down the hall away from them, clearly annoyed.

"H-hey," he smiled.

"We still on for the movies tonight?"

"Yea, uhh, you bet!"

"Great," she leaned in to kiss him, glaring at Puck out the corner of her eye; Pleased with his perturbed look.

**xoPQox**

He's losing it. His grades are slipping, he's acting out. His mom wants to send him to therapy, but he only rudely brings up the fact that they're broke. He doesn't want to talk to a shrink anyways. He knows what his problem is. He misses Quinn. And she doesn't want anything to do with him. He's miserable. He can't talk to his mom. Sara wouldn't understand, since she was only eight and still believed in the tooth fairy. Forget about talking to Finn; he was part of the problem. And any of the other guys on the team would call him a pussy and make his life hell.

Like father, like son, Puck starts breaking into his mom's liquor cabinet to drink away his sorrows. He knows it's illegal. But he doesn't know any other way to make the pain stop. The burning sensation as the booze goes down, and the way it makes his brain feel fuzzy takes his mind off his problems. But drunk or not, he can't seem to get his mind off Quinn. If anything it just makes him think about her more.

He invites Santana over on a night he has the house to himself. Deborah is at work, and Sara is at a sleepover. As expected, Santana brings Brittany along. The three teenagers do shots and play drinking games. The more intoxicated Puck became, the more he started to think, _"The way to get over one girl, is to get between two."_

And that he did.

**xoPQox**

After his night with Santana and Brittany, Puck became the bad-ass of the school. People feared him. He became a bully, tossing nerds into dumpsters, giving swirlies, and his favorite: slushie facials. With Santana on his arm, that only boosted his rep. They became second most popular couple in the school, right behind the prom queen and her king. Puck liked being with Santana. She satisfied his sexual needs, she helped him torment the dweebs, and lets face it, she brought him closer to Quinn. Santana wasn't an easy girlfriend, though. She constantly insulted his financial situation, bringing up the fact that his credit score was terrible. What the fuck was a credit score anyways?

So he got a job. He dropped the lawn mowing and dog walking back in middle school. That shit was for the little kids. Finding a job was difficult. His mohawk and unprofessional attire constantly got him laughed out of interviews. Somehow, he decided to start cleaning pools. His best customers were often the rich old cougars who's husbands were always away at work. They all seemed to hang around when he would be mixing the chemicals and clearing out leaves, just staring at him. At first he thought it was kind of creepy, but soon, he learned that it was pretty hot. These ladies had no problem with his financial instability, and they were extremely needy and generous at the same time. And they all seemed to have a thing for his nipples. So he got one pierced to draw attention to them. Puck knew what he was doing was wrong. Not only was he cheating on Santana, but this was extremely illegal. But he was a bad ass. And bad asses did illegal things. And pretty soon, he was too wrapped up in the the Star Wars sheets of these women's sons to care.

**xoPQox**

Quinn had just gotten home from a long day of school and cheering. All she wanted to do was nap, eat, and finish her homework. Eating came first though. She was starving. She pulled out a slice of pie that her mother had bought the night before, peeling off the seran wrap, looking at it like she could devour it in five seconds.

"Careful, Quinnie! Don't eat too much. Your uniform is looking a little too tight as it is," Judy popped in with a cheery tone of voice.

Quinn's face dropped and she ran her hands over her hips. Her uniform was a little tight. But she was starving. With a sigh, she threw the pie in the trash, grabbing some baby carrots instead.

She plopped down face first on her bed once she was upstairs, ready to sleep at any minute. Her eyes slipped closed as she settled into the warmth of her comforter.

_*Ring riiiing*_

_*Ring riiiing*_

"Ughhhh," she groaned and answered without looking at the caller Id, "Hello?"

_"Hi, Quinn. This is Mrs. Puckerman. This is kind of last minute, but I was wondering of you could watch Sara for the night. I know it's a lot to ask, since you live across town, and you and Noah haven't hung out lately..."_

"Umm..." Quinn shut her eyes tightly, trying to comprehend, "Sure. I can do it." Puck had football practice tonight anyways. It's not like he would be there. Plus, despite how she felt about him, she did miss Sara a lot.

_"Great! Thank you so much, sweetie. I'll pay you $10 an hour. I leave for work around 5:30, so if you could be here by then."_

"No problem, see you then."

**xoPQox**

"And she goes to bed at nine. No sweets after eight," Deborah led her around the house, "I won't be home to pay you, so just ask Noah when he gets home, and he'll pay you what you earned."

Quinn's stomach tightened at the thought of having to talk to Puck. She hadn't done that in what seemed like forever, but the feeling of Sara nearly tugging her arm out of it's socket broke her from her thoughts.

"Sounds good," she forced a smile, "I'll take good care of her. Drive safe!"

"Thanks again, sweetie!" Deborah called as she went through the front door.

"Come on, Quinn! Let's go play Barbies in my room!"

Throughout the night, Quinn and Sara played Barbies, hide and seek, and pretty pretty princess. She made them both dinner, and they watched Cinderella while they ate.

Once she got Sara to bed, Quinn sat in silence while she did her homework, cherishing the noise-less environment while it lasted. All night, she dealt with Sara's questions.

_"Why don't you come over anymore?"_

_"Do you and Noah hang out at school?"_

_"What's it like to be a cheerleader?"_

_"Do you like Noah?"_

_"Did you know I sometimes hear Noah saying your name at night? He must be dreaming about you."_

The grandfather clock against the living room wall struck eleven. She sighed, wondering where Puck was.

As if on cue, he came through the front door, looking like he'd seen a ghost when he saw her sitting on his sofa.

"You look surprised to see me."

"My mom told me to pay the babysitter. I didn't know it was you."

"Whatever," she broke their eye contact, "Where the hell were you? It's eleven o'clock."

"Not that I have to explain myself to you, but we all went to Waffle House after practice."

"Can I just have my money please, so I can leave?" she held out a hand.

"Well, I thought I could pay the babysitter some _other_ way, so I kinda spent the money already..."

Quinn scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You're disgusting. I'll accept the money anytime before next Friday."

He gave her an arrogant smirk and a cocked eyebrow, "Unless, you want me to-"

"Bye, Puck."

**xoPQox**


	11. Fifteen

**So far, this is the longest chapter!**

**I don't own Glee**

**Chapter 11: Fifteen**

Not much had changed since freshman year. Quinn was still homecoming queen and dating Finn, Puck was still a bad ass, getting it whenever and where ever he wanted, and Rachel was still annoying as ever. It was like a system had been set at McKinley High. Things were the way they were, and nothing could disturb it.

Quinn had started a Celibacy Club. Figuring it was important to teach her peers, and younger classmates about the facts in a way that was both fun and holy. When no one signed up, she turned to her squad-mates. At least 75% of them were already sexually active, but she needed people to join. Ironically, she bribed Finn with sexual favors (which she had yet to fulfill) if he joined and got some of the boys to come with him. She wasn't pleased when Puck walked in right behind him for the first coed meeting. Needless to say, it was the lamest, most ironic excuse for a celibacy club she'd ever seen; since she was pretty sure she was the only one in the room who had never even let anyone touch below the waist. Even while making out with Finn, she never let his hands roam. And she stopped them when they did.

The more the girls talked about their experiences during girls only meetings, the more Quinn felt like a prude. She was the only one with no juicy stories to share. And if she had to hear one more of Santana's tales about Puck, she was going to scream.

**xoPQox**

_"You're slowing us down, Q!"_

_"Lighten the load, Fabray! You're weighing down the pyramid!"_

All after school, Quinn had gotten insult after insult from Coach Sylvester. The mocking giggles from the other girls only made things worse. As she gathered her things from the locker room, she took the time to run her hands over her stomach. She did have a big lunch that day. It was pasta day in the cafeteria. She couldn't resist. She would just exercise when she got home. Maybe go for a jog.

"Quinnie, I'm off to the mall! I'll be home around the same time as Daddy. Stay away from his birthday cake! It seems to me, you've eaten enough already today!"

With her typical, medicated, bright grin, Judy walked out to the garage, just as Quinn was coming in the front door.

"Thanks, Mom," she mumbled, immediately trudging up the stairs.

She willed herself not to cry. She had it all. She had no reason to cry. Today was just a minor setback. As many times as she repeated that to herself in her head, it didn't stop the tears from flowing. She thought about calling Finn. Maybe some kind words would make her feel better. But, he was out on a trip with that stupid Glee club. So she decided on the next best thing.

_"You're go for Puck."_

"Hey...can you come over?"

**xoPQox**

This was NOT how her life was supposed to go. Being fifteen and pregnant wasn't part of her plan. She sat on the edge of her bathtub, one hand covering her mouth, the other clutching a positive pregnancy test. Staring at the little pink plus sign. That plus sign was _anything_ but positive. It was going to send her downhill for life. How was she supposed to explain this to Finn? Or her parents? Or Puck? How was she going to explain this to _anybody_? Her parents would burn her like a witch. Finn would break up with her. Puck would probably run the other way. And Coach Sylvester would kick her off the Cheerios without a second thought. Would she even be able to dance in glee club anymore? Not that it mattered. She didn't want to be there anyways. She was only there to keep an eye on Finn and Big Nose Berry.

She couldn't lose Finn. He was the only good thing going for her right now, even if he was slipping away from her. They were shoe-in for prom king and queen. She _needed_ that title it would keep her on top. Pregnant or not.

Maybe she could play it off as Finn's child. No one needed to know the truth. Finn was dumb like sand. He would believe anything she told him as long as she made it sound medically professional. It was perfect. She would have the baby, give it up for adoption, lose the weight, get back on the Cheerios, and be back on top before Junior Prom. It would be like it never happened.

_"Oh, God, I'm gunna get so fat!"_

**xoPQox**

Puck's mom had been pestering him a lot recently about finding a nice Jewish girl to marry. He was only fifteen! He wasn't even thinking about marriage. But still, he wanted to make his mom happy. He gave her a lot of crap last year, and wanted to make up for it. He didn't really know any other Jews. Not any that were attractive enough for him, anyways. The hottest one he could think of was that Berry chick from Glee club. She latched onto him easily, and pretty much agreed to make out with him every time he asked. But she always seemed to be glancing in another direction when they talked. Never at him. Always at Finn. He knew they were both in this relationship for the wrong reasons. She was using him to make Finn jealous. And he was just trying to get his mom off his back. And annoy Quinn. Which worked.

"Why are you dating her?" she slammed his locker shut, just barely missing his fingers.

"Shit, woman! What are you talking about?"

"Why are you parading down the halls with _Rachel Berry_ on your arm?"

"Why does it matter to you?"

"It...it doesn't. But of everyone in this school, why _her?_"

"You jealous?" he smirked.

That smirk was enough to make her go weak at the knees. Damn hormones, "N-no. Just...curious. I am _not_ jealous of Rachel Berry."

"Just say the word, baby mama, and I'll drop her like a hot, Jewish potato, and you could be my leading lady."

"Keep your mouth shut! No one knows but us!" she whispered, "Besides, I'm with Finn."

"Oh yea? How's that working out for you?"

"Perfectly. Things are perfect."

"Do you think things will be so perfect when he finds out you've been lying to him?"

She didn't have an answer.

**xoPQox**

When Quinn got kicked out of her house, naturally, she turned to her boyfriend for help. Luckily, his mom was fine with her moving in. Carole had never passed judgement on Quinn a day in her life for as long as she'd known her. And she felt horrible for lying to her. Carole had gotten into the habit of calling herself "grandma". It baffled Quinn how she could be so happy about this.

_"A baby is a blessing. No matter what the situation,"_ she would say

Every night, Quinn would lock herself in Finn's room and just cry. She would eventually have to hurt the people who had been there for her the most. She couldn't keep on making them think it was Finn's child. That felt worse than anything; Seeing them get all excited over something that really had nothing to do with them. She had to tell them the truth. But she had no idea how.

**xoPQox**

She never had to tell anyone. Rachel did that for her, by telling Finn (apparently the rest of the Glee club already knew), and Finn told his mom. But she was there for it. She was there for it all. When Finn found out, he immediately went after Puck; tackling him to the floor of the choir room. And she could do nothing but stand back and watch. The look on Finn's face hurt. But the look on his mom's face nearly killed her. Carole didn't look mad, or sad. Just...disappointed. Like she didn't even know who she was anymore. Almost the same look her father had given her before he kicked her out. But Carole was kind enough to give her a hug, telling her that everyone makes mistakes, and that she forgave her. It would just take Finn a little longer to understand. She even offered to let her continue to stay with them. But Quinn knew that Finn wouldn't want that.

"No, thank you," she wiped her eyes on her sweater sleeve, "I'll find somewhere to go."

No more than an two hours later, she was standing on the Puckerman doorstep in the pouring rain, praying that someone was home. Thankfully, the door swung open, revealing a very shirtless and bruised Puck.

"Can I come in?" the rain was coming down so hard, she couldn't tell the difference between that and her tears.

"Christ. Yea, come on in," he ushered her in, taking her bags from the porch. He ran down to the linen closet and brought her a heavy blanket, wrapping it around her and letting her sit on the couch.

"So what happened?" he asked while he rubbed her arms through the wool.

"Finn told his mom. She was upset, but forgave me. She offered to let me stay, but I didn't want to put Finn through that. And I'm pretty sure we're over. So I packed up my stuff and came here. I didn't know where else to go."

"Damn..." he looked down at his knees, "I'm sorry 'bout that, babe. You can stay here. I mean, there's not much room...You can take my bed and I'll sleep on the floor or down here, but I won't turn you away. I dunno how my mom will react, but I know Sara will be excited. She and her baby dolls can be like practice," he chuckled.

Quinn tried to smile at his words. She knew he would be there for her. For _them_. He's made it clear to her since the day he found out. Over the past few months, she felt her "give up the baby, get back on top, forget this ever happened" plan slowly fading away, all because of him.

"Sorry about what happened," she changed the subject, reaching up to run the tips of her fingers gently over his black eye and busted lip.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled and stood, "I'll go bring your bags upstairs."

**xoPQox**

Quinn didn't sleep well all week. Thankfully it was Winter break, so it's not like she had to be up for school. Tonight, she was alone. Deborah had work, Sara was at her friend's house, and Puck still had basketball practice over vacation. So she curled up on the sofa with hot (warm) chocolate, a tube of Pringles, and her Sleeping Beauty DVD. A little into the movie, Puck came in through the front door.

"Hey," he gave her a sideways smile, "Whatcha watchin?"

"Sleeping Beauty," she smiled back, blushing a little at her childish movie choice.

"Of course," he chuckled, "Well, I'll leave you to watch it. I'll just be upstairs."

"Wait," she called out, watching as he turned on the stairs, "You promised you would watch it with me."

"Uhh...when?"

"The first day we met, remember? I've been waiting an entire decade for you to watch this with me, now get your ass on this couch," she giggled and restarted the movie.

Thinking back, he _did_ recall actually telling her that they'd watch it together. And he never did. With a dramatic sigh, he plopped down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Maybe everything would be alright between them.

**xoPQox**

**I'm in the process of writing the chapter after the next one. I don't know if I'll continue after Seventeen. I most likely will, but updates will be a little more delayed until I get into writing later chapters. **

**A big thank you to all my reviewers! Especially Katieb6 and walkinthegardengnome who are most persistant :) I love you all!  
><strong>


	12. Sixteen

**New longest chapter! Tumblr Picfic Alert!**

**I don't own Glee!**

**Chapter 12: Sixteen**

They started dating a few days before Winter break ended. He took her to Coney's for their first official date. Not the most romantic thing in the world, but Quinn got to order whatever she wanted; which at this stage in her pregnancy, made her too happy to care that there was gum on the window sill.

When they got back to school, she held tightly to his hand and arm, thinking it could protect her from the harsh words that were being whispered all around her. She knew Puck would knock out any guy who dared to insult her. But there wasn't much he could do about the girls, which sucked because they were 85% of the problem. The sight of Puck throwing Jacob Ben Israel into a locker was enough to stop some of the whispers; not all of them though. Puck stayed by her side as long and as often as he could.

"You don't have to walk me to _every_ class, Puck," she slightly smiled at his consideration, "I'll be fine. I'll just...ignore them."

"I got nowhere to be. It's cool."

"What about your classes?"

"Makin' sure my girls get around without harm is more important," he paused in front of her English class, kissing her lightly on the forehead before letting her go in. A group of students simply stood there staring at him.

"You punks got a problem?"

They all walked away without a word.

**xoPQox**

Her birthday is coming up. He doesn't know what to do. This isn't just another one of her birthdays. This is the first birthday she's having while they're _together_. It has to be more special than anything else he's ever gotten her.

He knows that her pregnancy hormones are causing her to be unpredictable. He could say one thing and she would stomp on his foot or kick him out of bed (But invite him back in later, since she doesn't sleep well without him). He had to think about this carefully. He wanted to make it perfect.

**xoPQox**

She wakes up on the morning of her birthday to a note dangling from the bedpost. She sits up, rubbing her eyes, and reads the chicken scratch on the index card.

_"Follow the arrows"_

She looks down at the floor, seeing a trail of colorful arrows leading out the door. Smirking, she gets out of bed, making a quick stop to the bathroom, before following the trail. The construction paper arrows lead her downstairs to the kitchen where Puck, Sara, and Deborah are waiting, wearing smiles and party hats.

"Happy birthday!" they shout in unison. Quinn blushes furiously and wills herself not to cry. She takes a seat at the dining table after hugging them all. Puck sets a stack of homemade confetti waffles with whipped cream and sprinkles on top; complete with a few lit candles.

"Make a wish!" Sara flashes her a toothy grin.

She closes her eyes and thinks up a wish, blowing out all the candles.

"What'd you wish for?" the giddy ten year old asks.

"If I told you, it wouldn't come true," she tickles her stomach, causing her to laugh out loud.

"Well, I've gotta get to work," Deborah pipes up and hands Quinn an envelope before kissing her cheek, "Sara, give Quinn your present and a hug and get your stuff for Nana and Papa's."

Sara hands Quinn the gift wrapped in pink construction paper. She opens it carefully, revealing a glittery picture frame with _"Quinn Sara Noah"_ written across the top in foam stickers. A picture of the three of them laughing and covered in paint resting behind the glass. She could feel a fresh batch of tears threatening to spill over.

"Do you not like it?" Sara pouts

"No, no, no! I love it, sweetie," she wipes quickly at her eyes and gives her a tight hug, "Thank you so much. Go get your things before your mom gets mad, ok?"

"Okay. I love you, Quinn!" Sara rushes out the door.

"I love you too..." Quinn whispers, even though Sara is too far to hear.

"Hey," Puck kneels in front of her, "You okay?"

"She's amazing," she sniffles, "I'm fine," she reaches over to card from his mom on the table.

"What'd she get ya?"

"A $25 iTunes card,"

"Cool," he smiles before getting up.

"Where are you going?"

He doesn't answer. He just pulls a box of microwavable bacon out of the fridge, "I had to wait til Ma left before I could make it."

She watches in awe as he puts a few slices in the microwave for her, starting to dig into the waffles. He places the bacon slices on her plate before kissing her head.

"Eat up. I'll be right back."

_later..._

Quinn put her dirty dishes in the sink just as Puck walked back into the kitchen.

"Hey, where'd you go off too?"

"Come on," he took her hand, leading her up the stairs to the bathroom door, "Close your eyes."

She was skeptical, but complied, trusting him to lead her around.

"Okay...Open."

She opened her eyes, and nearly started crying again at the sight. He'd drawn her a bubble bath and filled the bathroom with candles.

"You like it?"

"I love it! Thank you," she hugged him tightly before kissing him deeply.

He pulled always slowly with a smile, "Get in before the water gets cold," he chuckled, "I'll just be downstairs."

She kissed him again before he left.

_even later..._

Quinn pulled herself out of the bathtub when the water started to get chilly. She wrapped a towel around herself, and another around her hair before blowing out the candles. She stalked to Puck's bedroom, finding a stunning navy blue dress laying out on the bed with a note.

_"Put this on and meet me downstairs."_

She smiled. She quickly put on the dress (which actually made her baby bump look smaller) and a matching pair of flats, before running to the bathroom to do her hair and make up.

After a last minute check of herself, she made her way down the stairs, seeing Puck standing in the living room, dressed in a dark navy dress shirt and black dress pants, holding a bouquet of lilies. She ran to him as quickly as her baby bump would let her, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his neck.

"You're the best," she whispered.

"I try," he kissed her temple, "Ready to go?"

"Where are we going?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

Quinn pouted as he tied a scarf over her eyes. Puck lead her out to his truck. She stayed blindfolded the entire ride. After pulling up to her favorite restaurant, he helped her out of the truck, nodding at the hostess to bring them to their reserved table. He removed her blindfold after she was seated and she blinked a few times to get used to the light, looking around at the classy environment. Her favorite restaurant. She covered her mouth in amazement. She never thought in a million years that Puck would take her here. But she was extremely grateful for it.

"Happy Birthday, Quinn," he smiled, taking her hand from across the table.

**xoPQox**

Everything was going smoothly for Quinn and Puck. They were back to the way they used to be, only so much more. He would talk to her stomach every so often and rub her feet and back when she asked. Things were perfect...Until one night.

"Puck," Quinn rolled over in bed to face him, "Puck, wake up."

His eyes shot open at her shaken tone of voice, "Are you okay? Is it the baby?"

"Kind of...She wants mozzarella sticks," she cringed.

"You'll both survive this one night," he wrapped an arm around her and closed his eyes.

"Seriously, Puck! I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about the mozzarella sticks!"

"Quinn, I have a test tomorrow. I can't be out and about getting you food when I need to be sleeping."

She looked at him incredulously. She didn't ask for much. He usually did anything she asked, baby related or not.

"Fine," she threw off the covers, in search of her Ugg boots.

"What are you doing? Get back in bed!"

"I'm going to get them myself, since you _obviously_ don't care enough," she knew these were her hormones, hunger, and lack of sleep talking. Usually she would understand why he didn't want to get up, but she was so damn desperate that she was willing to do and say anything just to make him feel bad.

"Quinn, get back in this bed right now. You're not driving anywhere this late at night."

"No! I want them. You won't get them, so I will!"

"Goddammit, Quinn! Go back to bed. I'll get your fucking mozzarella sticks. You're the one always telling me that I need to get more sleep so I can be awake and alert for school and get better grades. And now, here you are, throwing all that out the window for a few fucking cheese sticks."

Quinn glared at him as he put on a shirt and a pair of shoes, speaking to her harshly. He'd never yelled at her like this before. She didn't know whether she wanted to cry or punch him in the face. But he was soon out the door, leaving her alone. She took off her boots, putting them back in the corner, and paced around. She couldn't even lie down. Not only was she too hungry, but now she was worried about Puck, driving alone at night in the March weather. In an attempt to calm herself, she went to the closet, fishing out a shoebox that she kept buried in her corner and bringing it to the bed. She took off the lid, revealing a bunch of Polaroids, photo prints, and a few negatives. Shuffling through them, she took a trip through her own childhood through the photos. Some from ballet, mini cheerios, birthday parties. Almost all of the pictures included Noah. Whether he was in the background, or right beside her, he was always there. She must have spent a lot of time looking at the pictures and drifting in and out of her thoughts, because before she knew it, he was quietly making his way back into the room.

"Hey," she whispered, looking at him apologetically.

"Hey," Puck held up the take out box from the local diner, "Got your food."

"Thanks," Quinn quickly cleaned up the pictures, putting them back in the shoe box, "Can we talk?"

"Yea, sure. Lemme just change."

He quickly took off his shoes and changed back into his pajama pants before climbing back onto the bed next to her, giving her space as she dug into her food.

"What's up?"

She chewed and swallowed before tentatively answering, "I think we should break up..."

"What?" his eyes widened, "No. Baby, I was an asshole. I should've been more sensitive to what you needed. It was a dumb argument. Please don-"

"Puck, it's not just that. I understand why you acted the way you did, and I'm sorry I let my hormones take over. But I was going through all these pictures from when we were little. And...I miss that. I miss being best friends. I like where we are now. We're best friends now. We just kiss more than normal best friends should...But what happens if we break up and can't stand each other anymore? I don't think I could bear to lose you as my best friend. But if I lose you as a boyfriend, then I lose my best friend too. I don't know if I'm even making sense right now, but I need you to understand where I'm coming from, because I really mean what I'm saying. It's nothing you did, and it's nothing I did. I just think it's for the best."

He didn't know what to say. He was certainly confused, but he already denied her once already that night, and didn't think he could do it again.

"I understand."

**xoPQox**

Things were fine the next few months. Things hadn't changed much. They just didn't make out at all or snuggle on the couch like they did before the break up. He knew now to get her the food she asked for at night. His family came first. No matter what the situation, or how tired he was. He realized that now.

"Puck wake up," Quinn sat on the edge of their his bed. His eyelids fluttered and he mumbled something that sounded like _"Five more minutes."_

"Puck, seriously. This is important."

He opened his eyes, sitting up abruptly, "Is the baby coming? Are you having contractions? Do I need to go get hot towels? What are you craving?"

"I'm leaving, Puck."

Puck stared at her, dumbstruck.

"What?"

"Mercedes and I were talking today in the library," Quinn started, "And she offered me a room at her house And I said yes."

He knew this day would come. Her leaving. Now he was mentally kicking himself for not preparing for it. Just the thought of her leaving made him sick to his stomach. He got too used to having her around. Maybe he figured that she would stay. They had gotten closer than ever in her 6 months of living with him. And he still had that sliver of hope that she would want to keep the baby and raise it with him. There may not be enough room for a baby in his house, but he's told her before: he can find a way to get them their own place and some furniture; and they could be a family. He still had a bunch of money saved up. Maybe they could-

"Please say something," her soft voice broke him out of his thoughts, "I need to know that you're ok with this."

He looked at her, trying to read her facial expression. Sad, but hopeful. Moving out was obviously something she wanted. And he wasn't about to stand in her way, no matter how he felt. It's her world, he's just living in it. So, even though he felt like begging on his knees for her to stay, he complied.

"I'll help you pack tomorrow."

**xoPQox**

_"Quinnie, I want you to come home."_

Those words echoed in Quinn's mind as she watched her baby sleep through the nursery window. As much as she wanted to keep her, she couldn't. Her family had the money to support her and anything she would need, but money couldn't give her daughter the correct upbringing she deserved. Quinn wanted her baby to grow up in a home where she could learn that vanity isn't all that mattered. Quinn's home was the polar opposite. She remembered a time when her biggest dream was to be a singer. From the age of five, she would always use her hairbrush as a microphone and sing along with whatever blared from the sound system in her bedroom. Her mother would always tell her to turn the racket down and get ready for Cheerios practice. Quinn's mother and father never supported her dream. They always told her that singers don't become prom queen.

_"Girls in the choir don't date the handsome football players. They aren't on homecoming court. They are at the bottom of the social ladder, Quinn. How do think that would make our family look?"_

She promised herself that she would never become her mother. She wanted her little girl to be able to grow up and chase her dreams, with a family that supported her in every way. She had gone over her decisions. There wasn't nearly enough space for a baby at Puck's house; And she couldn't put that burden on Mercedes and her family. But Quinn could NOT raise her baby in her mother's house. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to end up like herself. As much as it pained her, her decision was inevitable.

"Do you wanna keep her?"

"No."

**xoPQox**

**As I stated in the last chapter, updates may be a little delayed after this. Thank you for your patience :)  
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	13. Seventeen

**Chapter 13: Seventeen**

_"Wake up...Get up!"_

_Puck slowly opened his eyes, glancing around. There was a small blonde girl standing beside his bed. Confused, he got up, never taking his eyes off of her._

_"You have to go to school," she smiled. Her high pitched voice echoing in the room._

_He ran to the bathroom, splashing his face with water. Maybe the unknown girl would go away. Was she one of his sister's friends? No. His sister was eleven. This girl was like, three. He cautiously tip toed back into his room, hoping the girl would be gone. No such luck. She was wandering around the room, her pink skirt fluffing out as she walked, looking at and touching everything._

_"Who are you?"_

_The toddler turned around, big hazel eyes staring up at him. She took a few slow steps towards him, never breaking eye contact._

_Finally, after seconds of haunting silence, she spoke up._

_"You have to get up and go to school, Daddy!"_

Puck's eyes shot open and he jolted up in his bed. He glanced at his alarm clock. 7:15.

"Fuck!"

He threw his covers off and stumbled around the room to get ready. He didn't want to start his junior year with a crappy attendance record. Taking a moment, he glanced around his room in search of the tiny blonde that seemed to have been just there.

"Thank god, it was just a dream," he sighed as he left the room. Little did he know that the small girl from his dream, the hallucination of his daughter, would make constant appearances.

**xoPQox**

As Quinn roamed the halls in her crisp new Cheerios uniform, she couldn't help but think back at the past year. Fallen head first from the top of the pyramid, metaphorically of course. Forced to shuffle around on the ground with the geeks and losers, whom became better friends than the girls on her squad. But she wanted to forget last year and everything that happened. Which meant only hanging out with Cheerios and football players at school. With the exception of the times when she has Glee. Which meant no more between-class chats with Mercedes. Hopefully she would understand. Quinn felt horrible about it, but if she wanted to get back to the top of that pyramid, she had to make sacrifices.

**xoPQox**

Puck sat on the edge of his bed, holding his head. He could feel himself going insane. The dreams, the lonliness. He had gone four months without talking to Quinn. Since the day they signed the adoption papers for Beth, she had avoided him. Wouldn't pick up his phone calls, wouldn't answer his texts, wouldn't come to the door when he stopped by. He was lucky if he caught her gaze in the hallway at school. It was driving him nuts. He had all these feelings and emotions. Some new, some familiar. It was worse that he felt like he had no one. No one to talk to about it. The only person he wanted to talk to wanted nothing to do with him. He's tried drinking away his sorrows, and that didn't help. He tried talking to his mom, but couldn't bring himself to open up much. She didn't understand. He needed to get out of here. Take a drive.

Behind the wheel of his mom's SUV (he sold his truck to get money for Quinn and the baby), he drove down a deserted street. Alone with his thoughts. He hated his thoughts. And they hated him.

_"If you had tried harder for Quinn, maybe you wouldn't be here right now."_

_"She's gunna move on. Find someone who can afford her. Live happily ever after with him. And where will you be?"_

His thoughts got more and more unreasonable, the further he drove._  
><em>

_"Maybe if you get a shit ton more money, you can buy Beth back from Shelby. Show up with her at Quinn's doorstep. She'll have no choice but to let you in and talk to you. You guys could be a family if she would just listen...but where are you going to get the money?"_

As if on cue, he saw a big ATM sign in the window of the 24 hour grocery store.

"Jackpot! This will get her back. This will get _them_ back!"

He took a sharp right; something in him told him not to bother parking. Just haul ass with that ATM machine as quickly and easily as he could. If that meant driving his truck through the glass window, then so be it.

**xoPQox**

When Puck came back from Juvie, he was hoping he could try to start fresh with Quinn. Maybe she'd be curious about what happened. He would use that as his window. But when he walked through the doors of McKinley, seeing Quinn wrapped up in the arms of the fish lipped Sam Evans, he felt just as lost as he was before.

**xoPQox**

Quinn knew that she was spiraling out of control. Cheating on Sam with Finn? She was back to her old ways, alright. But Sam was perfect. Too perfect. Finn didn't make her feel any better about herself like Sam did. Finn always seemed to put her third. On his list, it went: himself, Rachel, Quinn. But he was the most popular guy in school now that he'd lead the Titans to victory. He would be able to get her the shiny prom queen crown.

She considered Puck. But just the sight of him brought back all these feelings. Good and bad. Mostly bad. He made her feel so good. But the fact that she cheated with him, and they were having a baby that no one seemed to approve of, made her feel awful. That he was with her only for the baby. He could never have actual feelings for her. He's a stud. A sex shark. Commitment isn't his thing. When he told her he loved her, that was nothing but a line to get her to keep Beth...but why would he want to keep her? Maybe he wanted to change. Maybe commitment was becoming easier for him. He _did_ stay with her and only her the entire time she lived with him.

Quinn felt herself falling for Puck all over again the more she thought about him. She felt horrible for breaking up with him, in fear of them not being friends anymore. When in reality, if she had stuck it out, and fought for him, they wouldn't be what they are now. Nothing.

**xoPQox**

Nationals. They had finally made it. All their hard work, and they were finally here with the best show choir groups in the country. But they weren't good enough. They didn't even place. It was like Regionals all over again. The group had gone out for a celebratory dinner out on the town that night, but no one felt like celebrating.

Quinn got up to go to the bathroom, eyeing Puck as she rose from her chair. He caught her glance, while still trying to listen to whatever Lauren was saying. He excused himself a little after Quinn, and waited outside the ladies room.

The door opened soon after, the girl with the new haircut stepping out. It would take some getting used to, but he thought she was beautiful with any hairstyle.

"She's here, y'know," she said softly.

"I know," he nodded. Not needing to know who _she_ was. He knew.

**xoPQox**

**Sorryyy for the late update. It came later than I thought. I think I may just end it here, to be honest. I may do a sequel kind of thing once Season 3 is over, just so I can keep the story in line with the show. But i hope you enjoyed "Our World Was One Block Wide"! I had fun writing it! Thank you again for all your kind reviews! I'll try to write some more fanfics in the near future. :)  
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